Worth It All
by Kumori sensei
Summary: Neither wanted to be there, but both had to be. One because it was hosted by his family, the other because he was dating the boy who belonged to it. Some unexpected things come to light during it. NaruSasu. I own nothing.


Worth It All

The clothes were tight, constrictive, and it took a lot for me not to start tugging at my tie in annoyance. The black slacks and jacket, the white shirt and red tie was not what I would like to be wearing right now but I was stuck with it. This was a formal event after all. My boyfriend's family was throwing a party, so he dragged me along. Of course, when I tried to get out of it with the excuse of not owning any formal clothes, that accomplished nothing less than sealing my fate. Sasuke had already taken care of that and had something put together that I could wear. So here I was, wishing to be anywhere else.

The stupid prick had his normal indifferent expression in place, but I knew he had an image to live up to during these events. As his date, I was also supposed to live up to it. Although I knew I was only here as moral support for him, I still had to try my best to keep up. My attempt at that? Mingling with the others as little as possible, because heaven knew how badly I'd screw things up otherwise. My raven drew my attention to him by lightly grabbing my arm. It was quiet for a while as we stared at each other, me simply waiting for him to speak up in confused curiosity.

"Do you want to dance?" Sasuke asked.

I blinked, uncomprehendingly, at the words that came out of his mouth. He wanted to dance? Since when? He had always shot me down in past attempts at this. Maybe he was just doing something nice since I was here with him... Yeah, right. Fat chance of that.

"You want to?" I asked, wondering why I didn't just take advantage of this whole event to get a dance out of him in the first place.

"Not really, but it's expected of me." Sasuke admitted. "So it's you or someone else."

Now _that_ made more sense. So he was actually just using me to avoid pairing up with someone. Well, I was happy for the excuse to dance with my boyfriend either way. Looks like one good thing came out of this.

"Then I'd absolutely love to." I grinned.

Briefly, Sasuke's lips stretched up into a knowing smirk before settling into his expected mask. He guided me out onto the floor and moved to take the lead. To be honest, I kind of wanted to lead but it definitely wasn't worth making an issue of. If I knew I could lead later, I wouldn't even care but there was no reason for me to think my raven would be that kind. Unfortunately, for appearance's sake, he might not even be "allowed" to, which was just a shame. It also ticked me off. Why should the lead even _matter_? I didn't understand how it somehow suggested anything about the relationship but what could I do?

Either way, it wasn't my partner's fault so I definitely had no interest in making trouble for him and let him lead me across the dance floor. My eyes roved over his form casually, taking in the similar attire on him. It was definitely of higher quality than that of my suit. It was tailored to him too. He had simple square cufflinks on, with more square patterns on them. An extra touch I didn't have. His jacket and pants had some faint line patterns in them too. It looked good on him. His tie was a solid blue and went well with everything else.

When I met his eyes again, despite the downturned line of his mouth, his eyes were smirking at me. No doubt about it. He knew I liked what I was looking at. The ass. It was fine though. I wasn't shy about my opinion or feelings towards him. So I gave him a small grin, trying to keep my actions appropriate for this event. The pale hand resting at my waist gently pulled me closer, allowing our bodies an intimate closeness. It surprised me a little. I figured that sort of thing wouldn't be cool at this event. Either I was wrong or my boyfriend was getting a little rebellious.

It was nice, dancing with him in slow movements to the beat. He might not be fond of dancing, probably because of events like this one, but I was glad for this. Every once in a while, I hoped to be able to do this again. Sasuke slowed his movements with the song and I carefully leaned in, wanting a kiss but not sure if it was okay. If not, he could pull back and that would be that. However, he didn't and our lips met in a soft kiss for a few moments before pulling apart. It left me a little giddy.

Sasuke took my hand and pulled me along after him. His desire to keep me close was sweet. It made me happy and warm inside. I didn't know where we were going at first, but it soon became apparent he was taking me out onto the balcony. Already trying to get away from people then. How very like my raven. We walked onto an empty one, stopping only when we reached the guardrails. He leaned back against them and tugged me in front of him.

Not sure what he wanted, I merely blinked down at him. His hands lightly roamed over my face and torso, making me want to protest because he was being a tease. Knowing my raven, that would only spur him on. There was no winning for me here so I pouted at him. Sasuke's hands paused on my waist when he saw it. Then he pushed away from the railing and captured my lips in another kiss, slow and sweet. He dropped his head onto my shoulder afterwards, his arms circling my waist now.

I responded in kind, wondering what was up with my boyfriend. He was being weirdly emotional. It shouldn't be so easy to get him this way. Maybe these things were that hard on him. They must suck a lot. I suddenly felt really bad for even thinking of worming my way out of coming with him. Sasuke actually wanted me here as support. That was important. More important than whether I'd enjoy something like this or not. If my raven had to suffer here, I should along with him.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly. "You wanna ditch?"

A light chuckle reverberated against my neck as he pressed his face into it.

"I can't do that and you know it." Sasuke murmured.

"Sure you can." I grinned. "We can go down there into the garden to hide for a while, then make brief appearances here and there so no one is any the wiser."

Another chuckle escaped him and this time he told me not to tempt him, but I wanted to and I said as much. He gave a long aggrieved sigh, sounding for all the world like I'd wronged him somehow with that statement. Yet, despite that, he was pressing his lips to mine again. This time more demanding and heated. Apparently, he really liked the idea. Which bothered him because he wasn't supposed to go along with it but didn't want to fight it. Guess I kinda "wronged" him in some sense.

As expected, he still refused the idea anyway. That was a shame, but it made me happy knowing the idea was something that tempted him so much. His gaze trailed off to the party going on inside. He was probably wondering if he'd been out here too long. Man, this guy really didn't know how to indulge himself much, did he? Knowing full well he was going to pull away to head back in soon, I tightened my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. I didn't want this to end so quickly.

He smelled nice. It was a scent uniquely Sasuke and therefore my favourite. I hummed softly and nuzzled his neck. A low chuckle filled my ears. The prick liked having me this way. His arms squeezed me lightly before letting go. Ugh. That meant it was time to go in. Reluctantly, I pulled away with a pout. That stupid onyx gaze was as expressionless as always. It surprised me when pale fingers slid into my hair. My boyfriend acted like he was fixing it up, but I doubt anything really happened to it. I'd bet it was just an excuse to run his fingers through it.

Once he was satisfied, his arms dropped to my shoulders. I was gently pulled in as he leaned forward, claiming my lips in a quick kiss. He pressed his forehead to mine afterward and his eyes remained closed for a few more moments. Then his arms slid off my shoulders and there was space between us. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed even though I knew it was coming.

As we moved back towards the crowd of people inside, I watched him slip back into his professional persona. It made me want to pout some more despite understanding it. His lips quirked up just a bit when he saw my face and only for a moment but it brightened my world all the same. That didn't last long because he said he had to go off and mingle before leaving me. He couldn't do that with me at his side? Was there some rule about breaking up with your plus one to go socialize on your own or something? I didn't understand it at all!

I slowly made my way through the mass of people, careful not to make eye contact with anyone lest they try to start up a conversation, until I arrived at the buffet table. With a small smile, I picked up some things to snack on. Sasuke would return to me eventually, so I'll eat something while I have the chance. Well, it wasn't like he would stop me but he would give me this silent look if I picked too much up in one go. It wasn't as though he cared about how much I ate, it was just the stupid social conventions of this place. Which majorly sucked. Thankfully, he wasn't here right now so I could eat in peace.

Taking my plate into a corner of the room, so as to go unnoticed or that was the idea anyway but a group of girls suddenly came up to me. What? Seriously? This always worked for Sasuke though! I suddenly felt uncomfortable as they introduced themselves and started chatting at me. They made a lot of inquiries about me, which I was doing my best to answer, but I quickly picked up on what they were really after. They carefully steered the conversation to questions about my raven, occasionally touching me flirtatiously as if that would make me more prone to revealing information about my precious boyfriend. Thankfully, this actually happened a lot in high school otherwise I probably wouldn't have picked up on it.

Either way, it was just really awkward. They kept acting like they were flirting with me, asking me to dance and such, while attempting dig up some dirt on my boyfriend. I was doing my best to politely refuse and leave, but they were stubborn. Also, they knew how to keep the whole politics of these things going which I sucked at so it was just impossible for me to go anywhere without being rude. It would be bad for Sasuke if I did that, right? So I had to put up with this and quietly dislocate myself from any contact they made with me.

Geez, what did they think they were going to accomplish with that anyway? For one, I'm dating a _guy_. Are they just assuming I'm bi or something? Ignoring that, I'm dating, period. There was no way I would flirt with anyone else or show interest in them. It was troubling and I was starting to feel defeated, letting them stay close despite my discomfort with it and just refusing to talk about my raven to them.

Then said raven was suddenly there, glowering and looking about ready to break any part of them in contact with me. He said my name alone with such great intensity and that apparently scared all the girls away. I blinked at him in confused surprise as he just stood there, clearly upset, for a second before realizing what just happened. My lips spread into a grin and it took everything I had not to start laughing and cooing at him. This was really great!

"You're jealous? Of them?" I giggled a little. "I can't believe it. This is awesome!"

Sasuke growled, low and dark, in some kind of warning. I was obviously supposed to shut up but why would I do that?

"You got _jealous_ , Sasuke." I grinned. "Of a pack of girls I didn't show even a remote amount of interest in."

"Shut. Up." Sasuke bit out but the arm slipping around my waist and holding me close had a possessive need to it. "I don't like anyone else _looking_ at you that way. You're—"

He stopped abruptly, lips clamping shut in a hard line at whatever was about to come out of his mouth. Well, I might not be the most perceptive but even I could guess what that was about. Something about me being taken, I'm sure. Really, though, his possessiveness was so cute. It was rare for me to be hit on, certainly not with such aggressive persistence, so I never really saw him like this.

"Well, you can relax, they weren't even really into me." I snickered. "They were trying to get me to talk about you."

Sasuke flinched against me, which wasn't what I was expecting at all. I looked down at him in concern. If anything, I thought he'd get pissy about them not appreciating what they saw—such an amusing thing given he didn't like me being flirted with. He was all tense and uncomfortable though.

"Sasuke?" I asked.

Onyx orbs locked gazes with me. Then he let out a soft sigh and some of the tension left him.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Sasuke asked, looking out into the crowd now. "It's not the first time someone's shown interest in you just to get close to me."

Oh... _Oh._ I see what happened. There was this time in high school, a girl became friends with me to get to know Sasuke. Obviously, I didn't know that at the time. My raven picked up on it real quick, if his dislike of her was any indication. It was awkward and tense for me because I didn't know how to handle my boyfriend being a jerk about her and it upset me. He didn't come out and tell me she was using me at first—probably because I wouldn't believe him—and tried to take care of it in his own way.

Anyway, she was a real clever one. Didn't show interest in Sasuke until we got "close". I really thought she was a friend and that went horribly, horribly wrong. The prick didn't like her and I was always mindful not to share anything too personal about him to her since I didn't have the right to tell her things. However, I did open up to her about things and us and she probably got some information about him out of me that way.

When it became obvious I wasn't gonna pick up on what was going on and this girl was going nowhere any time soon, he told me what she was doing. It caused a big fight. Being told that hurt. That he thought that was all it was hurt. The situation was bad. Really bad. It put some real friction between us and there was a period of time I wondered if we'd end up breaking up over this. The thought broke my heart and honestly scared me. I was so hopelessly into him. God, I liked him so much. I didn't want to lose him over this. Or anything.

Well, when it became apparent how much we were breaking apart, she had that kind of thought too. Really believed we weren't gonna make it. Cleverly handling the situation, she tried to convince me to call it off. She said it wasn't "healthy" to be with a guy like that. I had no interest in listening to that. While I didn't think Sasuke was right, I didn't think he was being an asshole who didn't want me to have friends or some shit either. Which was what she tried to shove down my throat.

My stubborn refusal to listen to her eventually set her off and it became clear that my boyfriend had been right about her. So that friendship ended. Lots of crying for me. Alone. Since I didn't really know how to approach Sasuke after that while mourning the whole situation about the fake friend thing. It wasn't like I was avoiding him or anything, but we hadn't really been talking and I wasn't in the place where I could put the right words together to apologize and make things right.

It became rather obvious he had been keeping an eye on us since he showed up on my doorstep a couple days after the whole mess became clear. Mom had let him in. I was moping up in my room, trying to figure out what to say to Sasuke and sort through the hurt I was feeling over everything. He had quietly come into my room, coughing to get my attention, and looking for all the world like he was way out of his depth and he knew it. Apparently, he wasn't sure he was welcome.

I had practically tripped over myself getting to my feet in shock. God, I had been so happy to see him but super tense because I didn't know what to do. There was a lot of awkwardness and uncertainty as we tried to talk about what had happened. I was unsure about touching him, I didn't know if it was okay, and he gave me no indication if it was or not. Mostly, he stood with his arms crossed and was either looking at me with great concern or not at all.

Once we'd finally gotten all the words out and were on the mend, I allowed myself to try hugging him. It surprised me how much he trembled from it. He was clinging to me with a desperation I hadn't expected on any level. It brought me to tears. They just came pouring out. He was like that. All because of some stupid fight? Because I hadn't believed him? God, I'd felt so terrible. I spewed out so many sorrys, I couldn't even begin to guess at the number.

"This has to do with high school, doesn't it?" I sighed. "That was years ago, Sasuke, I'm over it."

"Three years isn't that long." Sasuke mumbled.

"Long enough." I said and stroked his arm comfortingly. "Look, I mean, obviously I don't like being used. It sucks. That isn't gonna stop me from being with you though. It doesn't take away the _happiness_ being with you brings me. No matter what, I'm not going anywhere. You're worth it _all_."

To my delight, an audible gasp came as his breath hitched and I was being tugged off to who knows where. Quick, hurried steps led me to the washrooms. Which, ya know, confused the hell out of me at first. Until I was being slammed against the door once we were inside and desperate lips were pressed against mine. He was already busy taking off my clothes before I could properly respond. Hell, he even made a low _whine_ when I didn't respond fast enough and that all but _killed_ me.

I crushed him against me with my arms and eagerly gave into the kiss. He had my shirt hanging open in no time and his hands moved over my chest as his teeth tugged on my lower lip. He had his tongue down my throat at the first opportunity. I had my hands in his hair, messing it all up, as we kissed. Dragging them down for a bit whenever space was made between our bodies. Until Sasuke was attacking my neck and forcing space so that he could touch more.

Then I was hurriedly unbuttoning his shirt, dropping it along with his jacket to the floor. I quickly got rid of the tie too and felt an absurd amount of joy at the feeling of skin under my touch. There wasn't much touching on my part before pale fingers were unbuckling my pants and pushing them down. His fingers curled around my semi-erect cock as he moved his lips down my chest and focused on a nipple. Given his hurry, I was surprised he was taking the time to stroke me in a way that would drag out my climax.

God, it was so hard focus on anything besides this sensation. The way his hand twisted and squeezed as it jerked up and down. Damn, it just felt really good. Fuck! It didn't help how he made these whines whenever I didn't touch him enough. Eventually, his slow approach downward had him on his knees. I barely noticed it until he had his mouth around my cock. I groaned and bashed my head painfully against the door.

When my gaze dropped back to him, I made a weak strangled noise when I saw him _prepping_ himself. Shit! How had he gotten there that fast?! His hand cream sat at his feet. D-Damn, he was being so rough with himself I may just cum over this. And I couldn't even look away. Add on his random moans and I was losing my mind.

"H-Hey. Shit, Sasuke! I'm..." I gasped. "I'm gonna cum if you don't... stop!"

An approving groan came from him at that and that did it. I banged my head against the door again as I filled his mouth with it. He swallowed around my cock before pulling away. It looked so fucking erotic I had to bite my lip to keep myself from making any sounds. Those eyes gazed up at me afterward, heady with lust, and it had me quickly coming to mast again. Especially when his hand jerked along my length to help me along.

With his other hand, he rummaged through my pants. It didn't surprise me. I always kept condoms on me in case I got lucky with him. It didn't happen too often, but it was painfully disappointing missing out on him like this. Especially since when he got in the mood like this, he got so much more aggressive than when I made the first move. He got up and ripped one open to put on himself. I hurriedly did the same, only to have him drag me forward by my tie.

I yelped as I stumbled a little and then found myself shoved onto the toilet seat. My eyes darted to the door in a brief moment of clarity only to see it's been locked. What? When...? Then my raven was straddling my waist and all coherent thought left me. His pants were gone. And he was kissing me. Hard. Pale fingers rubbed his hand cream over my dick before he hoisted himself up and slammed himself down on it.

My hands immediately moved to his hips, firmly gripping them as he bounced up and down with a frenzy. His arms were locked tightly around my neck, his face close to my own. My throat felt constricted as I watched my lover, eyes closed and softly panting, make pleasured faces and quietly moan. I dragged my hands around to his back and lightly trailed them along his spine. He kept gasping out words in relishment, taking in my cock with a reckless abandon.

"Naruto! P-Please, my...! Ah, mmn..." Sasuke begged in a gravelly voice.

A whimper came out next and he jerked his hips forward to rub his arousal against my stomach. Oh! So that's what he wanted? I stole his lips in quick kisses as I gripped his dick and dragged my hand along it in the way he liked. His fingers dug into my back and he fucked himself even harder than before. He was close and wanted to cum. That was fine. I was almost there too.

I pressed my face into his neck, marking it with my teeth as I kept spewing his name between moans. His body trembled and I smiled a little to myself. Even though I was saying it instinctively, I knew what saying his name like that did to him. It was the same for me. Then, suddenly, he gave an even harsher shiver as he came. He didn't stop his movements until my arms were tightening around him from my own orgasm.

Once it ended and I planted my lips on his in a sloppy kiss, he got up with a demanding "again". I blinked at the new condom in hand. He was already throwing his old one away. Quickly doing the same and shoving a new one on, I'd barely gotten it on before a pale hand gripped my tie and dragged me to my feet. I hurriedly tossed my shirt and jacket aside as our lips crashed together in a heated kiss and guided me forward. His back hit a wall before long and he was pulling me up against him. He rocked his body forward into mine. I knew what he wanted and lifted him up. His legs locked around me and I roughly fucked him against the wall.

My raven kept telling me "again" until we ran out of condoms, ordering me about as we had sex. Now we were standing in front of the mirror, trying to make ourselves presentable again. Or Sasuke was. I was too busy snuggling into his back to care. My back had some serious angry red lines carved into it. That made me happy because it meant he felt good. My lover was rather fond of them too, amusingly enough. I think he saw it as some kind of claim to me. Which was entirely fine. He was free to mark me up as much as he liked, especially when he looked so happy about it.

A sigh escaped my boyfriend, drawing my attention to him. I peeked up from his shoulder, blinking in surprise at the discontent face he was making. It definitely wasn't the sex, because I _know_ he enjoyed that. What was the matter then? I squeezed his waist worriedly and his eyes instantly locked with mine in the mirror. Some of the tension washed out of his face from that alone, making me insanely happy, but the bothered look never left. His nails dragged across my arm affectionately, something that would normally turn me to mush, before turning in them to lightly hug my waist.

If he weren't upset about something, I'd have just snuggled into him more. Seeing as that was not the case, I straightened up, completely expecting how he pressed himself into me more and buried his face in my neck. When my arms tightened around him, he softly omitted that he didn't want to go back out there. I smiled as I understood what was going on. Quietly humming in acknowledgment, I assured him I'd be happy to hide in here as long as he liked. It elated me to hear the light chuckle in response as he nuzzled my neck.

I rubbed his back, feeling how he slumped into me more. It was really obvious just how much he did not want to return to this party. Probably shouldn't have said all that sappy stuff to him here. That was clearly the cause of all this. I glanced at the door, knowing there was no way we could just hide in here all night. People needed to use the washroom, it was just a bad idea. Sasuke would never go for it. Closing my eyes and pressing my nose into his hair, I breathed in his scent.

"We really can't just ditch, huh?" I asked softly.

"Ugh. _Naruto_." He whined into my neck.

It surprised me, since he _never_ did that. Said a lot about what kind of state he was in right now. It was definitely a bad call on my part, bringing up something I knew wasn't an option.

"Sorry." I murmured.

I brought my hand into his hair and dragged my nails across the skin. He groaned into my shoulder and tugged on me so I would support his weight more. Quietly speaking into his hair, I promised I wasn't going anywhere, which had his breath hitching like earlier. He had to have known I wasn't planning on leaving, so something else must be the cause. Anyway, I told him I was gonna be glued to his side the rest of the night—he wouldn't be able to get away from me if he tried—and I'd go home with him, giving him all my time and attention.

His breathing was heavy and he clung to me with the same honest need from that time. I kept running my fingers through his hair until I felt his breathing calm down. Then moved to return to rubbing his back, but he whined in protest so I went back to caressing his dark tresses. He rested against me for a while longer, then pulled away with great reluctance. I noticed how he didn't push me away, telling me to get dressed, as he continued to tidy himself up and grinned.

Onyx orbs turned their attention to me when he was done. They roved over my chest for a beat before ascending to my eyes. Pale hands replaced his eyes as they idly moved over my hips and up my chest to my neck. His gaze stayed locked to mine as his touch travelled gently across my skin, cupping my face and drawing me in for a slow sensual kiss. I pressed into his body instinctively and kissed back lovingly. His ears were a light pink when he pulled away and he pushed unwillingly on my chest so I'd get dressed.

The rest of the night was filled with me stalking my raven around, hands clasped together and fingers interlaced. His grip on my hand was firm and assured that I wouldn't be able to break my promise if I tried. It was adorable. We'd disappear from the crowd from time to time and I'd get a bunch of tender kisses while he leaned on me. It was so difficult to head back inside after that. I almost felt like he was doing it so I'd suffer along with him. Or maybe he was hoping I'd just refuse and kidnap him, leaving him with no choice but to leave the party behind.

Anyway, the night eventually ended and Sasuke was following me to my car. His family had a limo, which they were returning in, but I couldn't just leave the car behind to hop in with them. Besides, given that my boyfriend didn't protest to going in my car, it was obviously preferable to him. While having a driver gave the opportunity to cuddle, he wouldn't do that in front of his family anyway, so the privacy of just going back alone with me was better. Although, I gotta say, I _definitely_ didn't see him sitting in my lap happening.

I sat frozen, unsure of what to do. This was kinda illegal? Ignoring my hesitance to this, he curled up against me more and got comfy. His breaths fanned against my neck and he lightly fisted my shirt when I didn't hug him against me after a minute. That _destroyed_ me. It was a silent concern that I wouldn't let him stay put. I was wrecked. Didn't know what to do. I _wanted_ to just let him stay curled in my lap but heaven forbid I crash and something happened to him because I couldn't bring myself to tell him to sit in his seat.

"I'm sorry... I just—I need you to be safe." I whispered into his hair.

Sasuke let out a breath, defeated, but pressed into me more. Deciding it was fine to sit here like this if he wanted, I squeezed him against me and rubbed his arm. He pressed into me more and it took me a while to realize he was crying. Softly. Barely making a sound. And it felt like a crushing weight on my chest. What the hell happened? Why was he _crying_? Fuck!

"I _hate_ that you were hurt," Sasuke omitted in a broken voice, "just because you were with me."

My eyes widened at the unexpected words. It was no shocker that him being the whole focal point of everything that happened during high school would bother him. He cared about me so of course it did. Sasuke had never said it out loud before. He'd never admitted he felt responsible. How the _hell_ had I not picked up on that? I didn't... even know. Fuck! Damn it!

"Hey... Look at me." I murmured, cupping his face and stroking his cheek when he did. "None of that, _none_ of it, was your fault. I wasn't hurt because I was _with you_ , I was hurt because some asshole decided it was okay to play with my feelings. You are _wonderful_ and _amazing_ and make me so, so happy. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You got that? The _best_. The very, very best. There is nothing in the world that makes me happier than being with you. I lo—Mph!"

My words got cut short with a kiss, passionate and wild. He hid his face in my neck afterward, huddling up against me. His breathing was ragged and he stole one of my hands, squeezing the life out of it. I just quietly held him against me with my other arm.

"You're such a—God, why do you have to say things like that?" Sasuke forced out, digging his fingers into my hand painfully. "People keep doing it—keep trying, and I'm... I'm so glad that nothing like that has happened again. I don't know what I'd do if you kept getting hurt like that. I don't know how you manage to keep brushing off what they do. What's so special about me to make it worth all that? And yet—yet you say these stupid, absurd things and I never know what to _do with myself_ after hearing it. You always smile and laugh and _love_ me and I... never want to lose that. I never want to lose those smiles, those laughs, that love. But people—they're always trying to walk all over you to reach me and I want you _so bad_ but it can't be easy to be with me when—"

I smothered whatever he said next into my chest by trapping his face there. God, he was shaking so badly. Fuck! I didn't realize he was struggling with this so much. This was... Shit! I held him with all my strength, waiting for the trembling to subside a bit before speaking again.

"Li...Listen to me, Sasuke." I said with as even a voice as I could manage. "I promise you, _you'll never lose that_. I'm never leaving your side. There isn't a thing in the world that can chase me away from you. I've never _once_ considered it to be difficult to be with you. I know not everything will be easy and happy, but nobody goes through life like that, right? The point is that the happiness is there. That there's enough of it. I always have an abundance of it when I'm with you. Of _course_ you're worth whatever trouble dogs at your heels. Everything about you is just so special to me. Your little stupid smirks when you're happy, the way you pretend to get mad at my antics but always kiss me as if it makes it perfectly clear what's coming out of your mouth is a load of crap, the way you quietly come up and cuddle with me whenever one of us is upset, your stupid ass attitude about everything and those damned faces you make when you want something from me but won't admit it— _everything_ about you makes up my entire world. I love being with you. I love _you_."

My raven nodded into my chest and I carefully adjusted my grip before I ended up suffocating him or something. He didn't say anything else and I took that as a good thing. It was silent as we just sat there curled up together. I waited until his breathing had settled and his body was unwinding to urge him into moving into the passenger seat so we could get out of here. Sasuke looked up at me and I could tell he didn't want to be physically separated from me, which _ruined_ me, but if we stayed here any longer we'd never make it back.

Reluctantly, my lover moved into the other seat. As I started up the car and peeled out of there, he mumbled that he wanted to go to my place. My eyes darted to him and I smiled softly at his embarrassed face. Wordlessly taking his hand and heading in that direction, I rubbed my thumb across it as he leaned into me. The ride was quiet and peaceful. We pulled up to the apartment building I live in and headed up to my floor.

Once in the small place, we went straight for my room. I immediately started pulling off my clothes, starting with my tie, because I didn't want to stay in these constrictive clothes any longer than I had to. It was a little surprising not to have Sasuke complaining about taking care of the expensive clothes when I tossed them to the floor but given his mood it was easy to see why he wasn't. However, something truly unexpected was my raven coming up and pulling at the belt looped through my pants. I blinked down at the uncaring yet precise movements.

I paused in unbuttoning my shirt as he pulled the belt free and dropped it to the floor. Then his hands were back, continuing with the removal of my pants. It was fine if he wanted to but... it wasn't really like him to undress me except for sex. Which I didn't get the feeling he was wanting. Carefully lifting his head up to look at me, those tired eyes clearly expressed how much that emotional conversation took out of him. His fingers immediately stopped in their action of hooking under the waistline of my slacks to pull them down and hung there without concern.

With a soft exhalation of breath, I leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss. His hands slid up a little to my stomach as he responded contentedly to the kiss. At least that should mean he was in a good mood right now. It would be upsetting if he was doing this while not being in the place for it. Then I littered some kisses over his face as I shuffled backwards towards my bed. I fell back on it and he crawled into my lap, hovering there as if unsure what to do next. For once, it looked like he was waiting for my lead on what to do.

Taking his hands, I gently tugged him forward. I smiled as he complied and dropped onto my chest. He shifted into my side and rested comfortably against me. I hummed happily at this and idly played with his hair. It was nice and I was happy. Sasuke hopefully was too. He probably was, given how peacefully he settled into me. He appeared rather content right now. The last thing I wanted was to disturb that.

So a lot of time passed with me just scratching at his head or massaging it. He looked to be getting more and more cozy and it was, for once, a little alarming. I wanted to properly get changed before settling in like this. I was just trying to make Sasuke feel better! Even though, ya know, it didn't seem like he needed much cheering up... That was, well... Anyway, it was not supposed to end like this! Besides, he shouldn't sleep with all that still on! Even he should get rid of a few layers.

"Um, Sasuke, sorry but," I said reluctantly, "I kind of want to finish getting changed."

His fingers scrunched up my shirt as they lightly fisted it, clearly not taken to the idea of letting me up. However, after a beat he was sitting up in silent permission for me to go. Moving into a sitting position next to him, I ran my fingers through his hair a few times and caressed his cheek before stealing a tender kiss from him. Then I got up and continued to strip myself down to my boxers. Unexpectedly, Sasuke got up and came behind me, pressing lightly into my back as he took care of the unbuttoning of my shirt himself.

Weird. Could he actually have just been after undressing me for no reason then? Or maybe he was oddly 50/50 about wanting sex? Gosh, I really had no idea. Either way, I just let him do as he pleased and got rid of my pants. My raven didn't let me go even when my shirt was hanging open and I wasn't sure what to do about that. I scratched my cheek and glanced back at him. He was resting his head on my shoulder and I, unfortunately, couldn't really see his face.

It didn't really look like he planned on moving any time soon. He looked pretty content, really. Well... Alright then. Guess I'm starting with my pants. Honestly, it was kinda difficult to shimmy out of them with Sasuke glued to my back but I managed. Getting my pj bottoms out of my dresser, I awkwardly put them on before staring down at the restricting arms attached to my waist. So, uh... Maybe it was just best I went shirtless tonight. You know what, yeah, that sounded like a plan.

I stretched, hearing my back crack, and let out a soft breath as I dropped my arms. With some effort, I wiggled around in my raven's arms so I was facing him. Onyx orbs looked at me expectantly. Wonder what exactly he was waiting for. Meh, whatever. Wrapping my arms loosely around his back, I went in for a quick kiss. Then I hubbled us along towards my bed. I felt his breaths against my neck as he leaned into me. They were warm, slow, and a bit ticklish.

When we dropped onto the bed, I somehow got him dislodged from me for a bit. I sat on top of him before he made movement impossible and grinned down at him. He tried to sit up but I stopped him with my hands on his chest. Silently gazing up at me for a moment, he slumped back into the mattress obligingly. Sadly, he didn't look quite so content anymore. It was really troubling for me and I paused before even doing anything from it.

Forcing my gaze downward, I focused on my task and started unbuttoning everything and then removed his tie. Once his chest was laid bare, I couldn't resist trailing my fingers over the newly exposed skin. Indulging myself a little doing it, I bent forward and claimed his lips in a soft kiss. It was really nothing more than the teasing touch of lips and I continued with it stubbornly until his hands slid into my hair and tugged me forward. His arms snaked around my neck, tightening with a demanding desire for me to come closer, and the kiss ended up being harsher than I intended.

In an attempt to placate him, I dropped my weight on top of him and dragged my fingers through his dark tresses. The kiss became more tender afterwards. It made me want to laugh. That would just anger this guy for sure so I suppressed it. Besides, I didn't want to stop kissing him for something like laughter. I dipped down to his neck next and placed adoring kisses along it. His breath hitched slightly and I nuzzled it before I put him in a mood I wasn't aiming for.

He seemed quite fine with this. Until I tried to pull back, anyway. His legs suddenly locked around my waist and I blinked down at him in surprise. There was a clear expression of displeasure on his face and I almost laughed at him. My face split into my trademark grin and I stole his lips in a searing kiss. Some tension left him as he gave into it, but I had no doubt that getting up was impossible for me. I tried to slip an arm under his back and was surprised when he didn't accommodate the action by lifting his back for me.

"Come on, let me get my arm around you!" I laughed from his weird mood.

He didn't move at first. I was seriously concerned me might not let me, but then his back arched for me. So I grinned again and got a good hold on him before getting us into a sitting position. He didn't appear bothered by this, so I guess being in my lap was good enough for him. That was good. I didn't want to disturb his good mood, just needed to get his clothes off.

Sasuke dropped his arms from my shoulders obligingly when I pulled at his shirt. Removing it and the jacket, I debated whether I should take the consideration to fold his clothes like he always did. He snuggled into me, his arms winding around me, and it just melted me to my core. So yeah, I decided to fold them just to stay in this position a little longer.

After I finished and tried to move them to my nightstand, he dragged me on top of him as he toppled over on my bed. I gave a small startled cry and huffed into his chest as I looked up at him. His lips were quirked up in a small smirk and I hated just how much I adored that face. Grumbling, I continued in placing his clothes on the nightstand. Then I tried to get rid of his pants but without him lifting his hips up that wasn't happening and since he wasn't I just gave up.

My boyfriend refused to allow me to move, even when I protested all I wanted was to get under the sheets, so I just grabbed what we weren't laying on and pulled it over us. Once I was settled on him, I felt his fingers in my hair. It felt real nice and I couldn't bring myself to care anymore that he wouldn't move. I snatched up the hand resting on my waist and kissed it before interlacing our fingers. His touch moved down to my neck and back. It was really just the best.

"I love you." I murmured softly and kissed his chest.

I grinned at the sharp inhalation of breath and the tight squeeze of my hand—the same response I got every time I said it. It was such a cute and endearing thing. There was always a handful of seconds that would pass, me having the luxury of listening to the fast pace of his heart this time, before he'd return the words in a quieter tone that was like him with the most sincerity that I'd ever heard him use. The words warmed me to my soul and I pulled my body up to kiss him fondly, before placing an equally as fond kiss to his neck.

I dropped my weight back on him after, keeping my lips pressed lightly to his skin, and snuggling into his warmth. His fingers had stopped their caressing, a shame, and just held me close. It made me impossibly happy, having him like this, and made my world shine and glow in ways I couldn't even begin to describe. How he could ever think being with him was a burden I'll never truly understand, but as long as he always remained mine and those fears faded away then I was fine with that. As long as I got to cherish him and be with him, I was happy. I'd be happy for the rest of my days.


End file.
